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Glite Dictionary
🎪 A strange show 🌀 Unusual behavior
freakery

freakery

9.6
A public show of people or things seen as strange for entertainment
  • noun
  • /ˈfrikəri/
  • Offensive
translation icon : espectáculo de fenómenos
  • The circus featured a freakery that included contortionists and fire-breathers, captivating the audience with their unusual talents.

Examples

  • The museum's exhibit on freakery highlighted the lives of those who had been displayed for their unusual characteristics in the past.

  • During the fair, the freakery showcased performers with extraordinary abilities, delighting visitors with their uniqueness.

  • "Victorian Freaks: The Social Context of Freakery in Britain." Ed. Marlene Tromp. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2008. 259-82.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

freak show
vsfreakery
  • Offensive
35 6.8

An event that shows strange or shocking people and acts for entertainment

is a public exhibition focusing on strangeness rather than aiming to shock

How Strange

freakery
  • Offensive
9.6
spectacle
68 4.2
sideshow
13 4.2
oddity
15 5.3
curiosity
27 5.0
exhibit
243 3.4

Surface Forms

freakery singular
freakeries plural

Morphology

freakery = freak (semi-transparent) = freak + ery

Formed from 'freak' + the noun-forming suffix '-ery' (indicating a collection/practice), but the specific sense 'public exhibition' is a culturally specific usage that is not fully predictable for all learners.

Etymology

The word freakery comes from freak ('a strange person or thing') plus the ending -ery that makes a place or collection, like in cookery. So freakery means a show or exhibition of odd people or objects, which explains its use for public displays in old circuses or some museum exhibits.